Slack-adjuster.



W H. SAUVAGE.

' SLACK ADIUSTER.

APPLICATION FILED IAII.25, 1916*.

Patented May 29, 191?.

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NETE STATES FATET OFTQE,

WILLIAM H. SAUVAGE, OF FLUSHING, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GOULD COUPLERCOMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SLACK-ADJUSTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 29, i917.

Application led January 25, 1916. Serial No. 74,188.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that T, WILLIAM H. SAUVAGE,citizen of the United States, and resident of Flushing, in the county ofQueens and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulTmprovements in Slack-Adjusters, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to slack adjuster-s for the brake rigging ofrailway cars, and in its more intense aspect to automatic slackadjusters particularly adapted for use in connection with truck brakerigging.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a simple andpractical. slack adjuster particularly adapted for use with the brakerigging of trucks of standard make. Another object is to provide a slackadjuster of the above general character adapted for use with beam truckbrake rigging which will be reliable and e'iiicient in use andoperation. A further object is to provide mechanism of the first abovementioned character having few parts and so constructed and arranged asto permit its ready application to the truck frame work without materialmodication or alteration.

Other objects will be in part obvious from the annexed drawings and inpart indicated in connection therewith by the following analysis of thisinvention.

This invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combination of parts and in the unique relations of the members and inthe relative proportiomng and disposition thereof; all as morecompletely outlined herein.

To enable others skilled in the art so fully to comprehend theunderlying features thereof that they may embody the same by thenumerous modifications in structure and relation contemplated by thisinvention, drawings depicting a preferred form have been annexed as apart of this disclosure, and in such drawings, like characters ofreference denote corresponding parts throughout all the views, of whichFigure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of such parts of-atruck and associated brake rigging as are necessary to understand thepresent invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view partly in section of a portion of the mechanismshown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the mechanism shown inFig. 2.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and more particularly to Fig. l,6 denotes the truck frame work including a bolster of any desired typeas shown in dotted lines provided at one side with an abutment orsupport 7 to which a dead lever 8 may be secured in any one of severaldesired positions. This dead lever is pivotally connected at its lowerend 10 to one end of a solid push rod l1, the opposite end of which pushrod is similarly connected at the point l2 to the lower end of livelever 13. The upper end of this live lever is connected to thebifurcated end lt of pull rod 15. This end llis preferably extended toform an integral loop adapted to coact or engage with the truck frame Gand limit the return movement of the live lever to normal position afterapplication of the brakes. Both the live and dead levers are providedwith brake 'beams 16 carrying shoes at their ends adapted to coact withthe peripheries of the wheels of the truck. This mechanism is all ofmore or less well known character and operates in the usual manner.

' In order to take up the slack due to wear of the brake shoes, forexample, and maintain uniform piston travel, an automatic slack adjusterof the type hereinafter described is practically interposed between andassociated with the brake beams. This Amechanism comprises broadly atemporary take up and holding mechanism adapted to be actuated on excesstravel of the brakes and a permanent holding mechanism actuated bytheiirst mechanism on release of the bra-kes to permanently take up andhold the excess travel of the brake rigging due to wear of the parts. Onthe push rod 1l there is provided two lugs 20 and 2l spaced apart a fewinches and provided with holes through which an adjusting rod Q2 passes.This adjusting rod is provided with a friction clamp 28 firmly grippingthe adjusting rod, and of a width less than the distance between thelugs 20 and 21. One or more washers 24 may be interposed between theclamp and one of the lugs if so desired to regulate the lost motionbetween the clamp and the lugs provided for the purpose of giving anormal brake shoe clearance.

The upper or opposite end of this rod 22 is pivotally mounted upon astud 25 projecting from one side of a housing 26 mounted between the'brake beam 16 and a coacting bow-shaped brace 27. Within this housingare located one or more dogs 28,

normally held in canted position by means of a spring 30 surrounding atakeup or holding rod 31. This rod has a bifurcated end 32 embracing thelive lever 13 and pivotally connected therewith by means of a pin 33adapted to travel in slots 84 in the sides of the housing 26. Thishousing and dogs constitute a permanent take up and holding` mechanism,and it is to be understood that other forms of positively acting devicessuch as ratchets, or the like, may be substituted to permit a relativetelescopic movement of the rod 31, and housing 26, in one direction onlyand positively prevent opposite movement, that is, in the present cas-e,a relative movement of the rod 31 toward the left, Fig. 2, onapplication of the brakes. This housing which really forms a part of thestrut is preferably provided with a ball and socket connection with thefastening member 29 connecting it to the beam 16 to permit slightturning as may be necessary, as shown clearly in Fig. 3.

1n order to restore the parts to normal position there is provided areturn spring 35 of substantially U-shapel construction, the upper endslof which are connected by means of a bolt 36 having a roller bearingagainst the side edge of the live lever 13 and carrying at its lower enda spool 37 adapted to travel along the under side of the casing or strutforming the sides of the housing 26. A plurality of turns intermediatethe upper and lower ends of this spring surround the pin 33 whereby thespring is tensioned on application of the brakes in which the angleformed by the strut and live lever changes.

This relative change in the angular relation f of the parts causes apeculiar turning action, producing localized tension of the springadjacent the pin 33 which will tend to restore the parts tornei-malposition on release of the braking power.

The spool 37 bearing upon the under side of the strut is adapted toprevent binding at the point of contact between the strut and the springas the slack is permanently taken up by the holding device, for it is tobe understood that the pin travels gradually along the slot 34C as wearof the brake shoes takes place.

The device operates in substantially the following manner: Uponapplication of the brakes the live lever moves toward the left under theaction of the pull rod 15 and causes an opposite movement of the deadlever toy bring the shoes carried by .the brake beams 16 in contact withthe peripheries of the wheels. This initial movement takes place withoutactuation of the slack adjuster mechanism by reason of the lost moy tiondevice provided by the friction clamp 23. If, however, excess traveltakes place greater than that provided for by the lost motion device, arelative slipping will take place between the clamp 23 and the adjustingrod 22 to permit the e'Hicient and desired operation of the brakes. Onrelease of the braking power the live lever drops back toward itsoriginal position so far as permitted by the lost motion device underthe action of the return spring 35 thus bringing the shoes clear of thewheels. Tf excess travel has taken place the friction clamp will preventfurther movement of the adjusting rod 22 toward the right and hold thehousing Q6 in relatively fixed position. The return spring howevercontinues to actto restore the angular relation originally existingbetween the strut and live lever and as the housing is prevented frommoving, the holding rod 31 contained therein will be drawn toward theright an amount corresponding to this excess travel at which point thestop member 111 located at the upper end of the live lever will coactwith the bolster and arrest further movement.

This operation is repeated from time to time as may be necessary to takeup the slack and when it is found desirable to replace the worn brakeslices the dogs are released from their gripping position on the holdingrod by moving them to vertical position in any desired manner, whereuponthe rod 31 be forced toward the left to its original position. This dogrelease mechanism, although not shown, is preferably operable from theside of the truck and may be applied to the housing if so desired, thusavoiding the necessity of having an operator go in under the car asfully disclosed in my copending application Serial Number 741,17 6.After the new shoes have been applied to the brake shoe heads anapplication of the brakes will bring the same to proper adjustment.

1t is thus seen that the present invention provides a simple, practicaland efficient automatic slack adjuster that may be readily applied totruck rigging of standard type. The invention involves relatively fewparts which arecheap to manufacture and install and is believed toaccomplish, among others, all of the objects and advantages herein lsetforth.

Nithout further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthis invention that others can by applying current knowledge readilyadapt it for various applications without omitting certain featuresthat,

from the standpoint of thel prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention,and therefore such adaptations should and are intended Ato beeomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of thefollowing claims.`

T claim:

1. In a slack adjuster, in combination, a live lever, a dead lever, apush rod connecting'the lower ends of said levers, a housing mountedupon a brake beam having holdinor devices associated therewith, aholding ro connected with the live lever and having a telescopingengagement with the housing, and an adjusting device connected with saidhousing at one end and said push rod at its other.

2. In a slack adjuster, in combination, a brake beam, a lever, a pushrod connected with the end of said lever, a housing mounted upon thebrake beam having holding devices associated therewith, a holding rodconnected with the lever and having a telescoping engagement with thehousing, and an adjusting device between the push rod and the housing,the connection between such adjusting device and push rod being providedwith a lost motion device to insure brake shoe clearance.

3. In a slack adjuster', in combination, a live lever, a push rodconnected therewith, a brake beam, a housing mounted upon the brake beamhaving holding devices associated therewith, a holding rod connectedwith the live lever and coacting with the housing, an adjusting devicebetween the push rod and the housing, the connection between suchadjusting rod and push rod being provided with a lost motion device toinsure brake shoe clearance, and a friction clamp yieldable in bothdirections associated with said adjusting rod adapted to be operated onexcess travel of the brakes.

4C. In a slack adjuster in combination, a live lever, a dead lever, anon-extensible push rod connecting said levers, a brakel beam'and strutassociated with each of said levers, a housing rotatably mounted uponone of the beams, a take up rod co-acting with said housing andpivotally connected with the live lever, and an adjusting rod betweenthe housing and thev push rod.

5. In a slack adjuster, in combination, a brake beam strut, including arotatably mounted housing, a holding rod coacting with said housing, andan adjusting rod associated with one of said parts.

6. In a slack adjuster, in combination, a live lever, a dead lever, apush rod connecting said levers, a brake beam and strut associated witheach of said levers, a holding device mounted on one of the struts, adjacent the brake beam, a holding rod coacting` with said device andpivotally connected with the live lever, an adjusting rod between thedevice and the push rod, and a friction cla-mp associated with said pushrod at its point of connection with the adjusting rod.

7. In a slack adjuster, in combination, a live lever, a brake beamassociated therewith, a strut rotatably connecting the beam and leverand provided with longitudinal slots to permit angular and longitudinalrelative movement of said lever, a permanent take up and holding deviceassociated with said strut, and a holding rod between the holding deviceand the live lever.

8. In a slack adjuster, -in combination, a live lever, a brake beam, arotatable strut on the beam provided with longitudinal slots to permitangular and longitudinal relative movement of said lever, a permanenttake up and holding device near the end of said strut, a holding rodbetween the holding device andthe live lever, said rod being pivotallyconnected with the live le ver at the point of connection between thestrut and the live lever.

9. In a slack adjuster, in combination, a live lever, a pull rodconnected to the upper end ot' said live lever, a stop associated withthe point of connection adapted to coact with the car bolster to limitthe return movement, a dead lever pivotally connected at the oppositeside of the bolster, apush rod connecting the lower ends of said levers,brake beams, pivotally mounted struts associated with the levers andconnected with said beams, a permanent take u p and holding devicemounted upon one of the struts, and adjusting mechanism coacting withsaid holding device and having a lost motion connection 'with the pushrod.

10. In an automatic slack adjuster, in combination, a brake beam, and atake up and holding device rotatively connected therewith.

11. In an automatic slack adjuster, in combination, a brake beam, abrace connected therewith, and a housing positioned between the braceand beam and having a rotatable connection therewith.

12. In an automatic slack adjuster, in combination, brake beams, strutsrotatably connected therewith, and levers associated with said strutswhereby they may turn 'relatively thereto by reason of said rotatableconnections.

13. In a slack adjuster, in combination, a brake beam strut includingtwo parts rotatably connected with each other, one of said parts forminga housing containing permanent take up and holding mechanism, a holdingrod coacting with said housing, and an adjusting rod connected at oneend with said housing adapted to temporarily hold the same in relativelyfixed position while the excess travel of the brake rigging is beingpermanently taken up.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,this 16th day of December, A. D. 1915.

WILLIAM H. SAUVAGE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

